Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Subtle Manipulation. . . or Not So Subtle?

Scott Brown is going for the vacant Senate seat and last Saturday publicly stated his intentions to do so. The Boston Sunday Globe covered his announcement, but considering the placement of the article, it appears folks at The Globe are disappointed no Kennedy is running. Above the piece about State Senator Scott Brown is a story about Ted Kennedy Jr. who has not entered the race but is promoting his father's book, True Compass, reviewed in the same publication on pageK6. The Globe focus in terms of the Senate race is clearly on the Kennedy son and the author laments her plight of not having him as a contender for the Seat. Jenna Russell wistfully writes, "For a time, his story seemed destined to unfold in politics." (p.B6)

Coverage on Kennedy begins at the top of page B1 and continues on p. B6 with over half a page more text and pictures. On the front page of the Metro section where the write-up begins, directly above the article about Scott Brown, Ted Kennedy Jr. is pictured wiping a tear from his face as he spoke at his father's memorial service. Instead of publishing a photograph of the person who is putting himself on the line in this election, The Globe included a picture on that same page of someone who is not even involved. I will grant that on p.B4, under the fold, State Senator Brown is shown announcing his candidacy.

WGBH's "Greater Boston" Friday evening program, "Beat the Press" offers analysis of how events of the week were discussed and publicized. On that show (9/11/09) it was brought out that "the media wants a Kennedy to run." How can and do television, newspapers, talk show radio and the internet influence our thinking and in turn, our votes? We need to take care to sort through the mounds of information that are out there in order to get to the kernel of truth in order to make informed decisions.


Boston Sunday Globe, September 13, 2009, "Brown to make US Senate bid" by Peter Schworm, p.B1
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/13/scott_brown_to_run_for_us_senate/


Boston Sunday Globe, September 13, 2009, "The Kennedy Mantle/ Son shuns spotlight, but not duty" by Jenna Russell, p.B1
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/13/ted_kennedy_jr_shuns_spotlight_but_not_duty_to_fathers_memory/

Boston Sunday Globe, September 13, 2009, "Something to prove" by Matthew V. Storin, p.K6
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/09/13/ted_kennedys_memoir_recounts_his_achievements/

3 comments:

Simon Willard said...

I've long wondered why Joe Kennedy left politics given the reservoir of natural support in New England. Now, the same question arises for Ted Jr. Perhaps there are hidden embarrassments which would become public.

The behaviour of the press is troubling, but at least it is explicable. The press has an interest in dynasties, whether named Kennedy, Bush or Clinton. They are looking for symbols or a story line, and they exploit surnames for this purpose. Story tellers need good guys and bad guys, or protagonists and antagonists. If an unknown John Doe runs for office, there's no story line for the press.

Princeton GOP said...

So good to have you back, commenting on The Mayflower Commentary, Mr. Willard. I understand the natural allure our semi-royal families have on the average citizen. Let's face it, Simon, stories about the Kennedys or the Clintons sell newspapers. What I would like to see, however, is more responsible journalism, that is, reporting the facts without bias.

So you know, Simon, Scott Brown is no John Doe. He is currently a state senator from Wrentham and served before that as a state representative. State Senator Brown would bring common sense to Washington if he were to be elected and should have just as much press time as any of the Democratic candidates.

JohnFrum said...

Ah Simon, we have missed your poetic discourse. Welcome back and I hope we will hear more from you.
According to the tax records of Joe's non-profit Citizens for Energy, Joe drew a cool $545,000 salary in 2007. This is from the 9/6/09 Boston Globe. That's a neat salary for a job without any heavy lifting. Would you go chase a senatorial seat that only pays $160K and requires some accountability if you could pull in a cool half million for doing nothing but smiling?